Dietetically sweetened food products and method of preparing the same



Patented Sept. 22

DIETETIGALLY, .SWEETENED FOD-,PROD- gems AND METHOD OF PREPARING THE AME 'Jam'es- B. Gordon, Burlingame; Calif.

N o Drawing. Application December 8, l952, Serial N0. 324,831

This application? is?a".continuation-impart of my copending "application, "Serial, No. 1254185,

filed October "23, '1951"'an'd"entitled' Dietetic ,Food Product.

The; present invention, relates to, dietetically sweetened food,productsjarrdimore particularly to dietetical1y sweetened .preserves.

In my copen'ding application, a'novel method was 'disclosed'for si'multating .a sugar-like taste in food. productsinigeneral, without the use of sugar, andmoreparticularly, canned fruit.

, presentjinventionlhas, as its main object,

f the v production of 'dietetically sweetened preserves including'the ,usualfjams and jellies which nor- "mallyrange'in sugar concentrations from 65% to In the past, itjhas beenpossible to sweeten 'variousjfoodproducts to a certain degree by us- .ing relatively low concentrations of, saccharin which, althoughinotproducing a 'sugar-liketaste,

nevertheless haslresulte'd in .an acceptable prodnot, especially in cases of persons who are willing to sacrificeithe naturalsweetne'ss of sugar 'toireduce their .bodily intake of carbohydrates.

However, in1fo'0ds such as preserves which nor- 1 mally "require a relatively large amount of sweetening, the ,useiof saccharin-alone has not been satisfactory because, upon increasing the concentration of 'saccharin to the point necessary to obtain the degree or sweetness required,

a characteristic bitter 'or'metallic taste results.

For example, when the concentration of saccharin is too great, 'abitter taste is noticeable; although in the case of preserves the type of fruit employed will, .to, algreat extent,.affect the upper limitof thesaccharinconcentration. 'It will, therefore, be 'a'pparent'thatto prepare dietetic jams or jellies "which normally require a highsugar-concentration of -from65 to"70% the addition of saccharin itself will .not be sufficient.

The problem of sweetening dietetic preserves without "the use i of --sugar is further complicated my the fa'ct that a -wid'e range of acid content occurs in different fruits as wellas a wide range of naturalsugarcontent. Thus, grapes-have a relatively high sugar and low acid content while berries tend to have a. low sugar and high acid content. Even among different batches of the same fruit the sugar and acid content may vary appreciably.

It will therefore be apparent that the amount of sweetening added cannot be set forth with accuracy ior all cases. The addition of a certain amount of saccharin may be suflicient to raise the sweetness of a relatively low sugar fruit without resulting in a bitter taste but, if the acid content'of such fruit is relatively high, ad-

:dition of saccharin alone may not be possible because its required. concentration. becomes exxcessive.

I havefoundthat .the'sugar-like taste normally present in prepared'iruitproducts may i be'veryJ'closelysimulated by the use of a combination of sodium cyclamate or calcium cyclamate and saccharin. in certain proportions.

However, it is important to note that texture,

"being inseparably'relatd to taste must also be considered when preparing dietetically sweetened food products and-particularly dietetic preserves.

In the conventional method of making jams and jellies, the desired thickening effect or gel is produce'd'by. addingpectin in certain known proportions provided the. necessary percentage of acid is present. -Pectin, .of course, requires the presenceof a considerableconcentration of sugar and-will not causejelling without sugar.

I.Thus, in the case of dietetic'foods such as preserves, pectin cannot 'be employed because no sugar isadded.

Whenacombination of sodium cyclamate or calcium cyclamate and saccharin is employed -to produce the desired sweetening effect in preserves, it is possible to achieve a gel by the use of alow methoxyl acid pectinate commonly caled low .methoxyl pectin.

In additiomit isnecessary to adjust the pH value of the jelly to between 3 and 4 by the additionof citric acid, 'or any other-edible acid The exact course vary=-with the particular type of fruit employed.

in addition to-the-adjustment of the pH value, itis necessarytopadd-calcium ion to bring the calcium ion concentration to at least 25 milligrams for -each;-gra-m of -lowmethoxyl pectin added. The addition of the calcium ion -may be effected by almost any calcium saltsuch as calcium chloride, mono-calcium phosphate, dicalcium phosphate, calcium lactate, etc.

In the manufacture 0f mostjams andjellies,

. it is desirable -to enhance the sweetness by adding small percentages of saccharin. It must be understood in this connection that saccharin, being sweeter than either sodium or calcium cyclamate, is preferably employed in relatively small percentages to whatever extent possible. From the standpoint of economy, the sweetening effect of saccharin is used to good advantage because it is relatively inexpensive.

The concentration of calcium and sodium 3 cyclamate is also limited and it has been found that concentrations in excess of 1.9% and 1.3% respectively will result in a bitter taste although not as unpalatable as the metallic taste characteristic of saccharin.

It istherefore apparent that both saccharin and calcium (or sodium) cyclamate have their limitations. That is, there is a percentage of 'concentration beyond which an unpalatable taste results although the disagreeable taste of one is not the same as that resulting from overuse of the other.

I have further found that the inherent unpalatable tastes of both saccharin and calcium and sodium cyclamate do not combine in the same manner as their sweetening effects. phenomenon may be used to advantage in pre- This 7 paring most preserves which normally require a relatively large amount of added sugar.

A satisfactory formula employing sodium or calcium cyclamate and saccharin is as follows:

Percent saccharin maximum .032

Sodium (or calcium) cyc1amatedo .23

Low methoxyl pectin do 1.5 Fruit (including fruit juice) and other ingredients minimum 98.238

Depending upon the type of fruit employed and the sweetness desired, the above formula may be considerably varied. For example, under certain conditions the use of saccharin may be consid erably increased and a concentration of over .1% may be employed when a relatively high sweetness is desired.

However, it is always desirable to employ sodium or calcium cyclamate to a greater extent than saccharin. Thus, although the concentration of sodium or calcium cyclamate may be reduced as low as 2% in some cases when no saccharin is necessary, a concentration of 1.0% calcium cyclamate or 1.3% sodium cyclamate may be considered as upper limit when saccharin is also employed. By maintaining the percentage of sodium cyclamate or calcium cyclamate at a substantially greater value than the percentage of saccharin, the undesirable bitter taste of such ingredient is not manifested.

For example, in the relatively rare cases where v the percentage of saccharin is increased above .1%, the percentage of sodium or calcium cyclamate should be at least two or three times this amount with an upper limit of about 11%.

Obviously, when a relatively low degree of sweetness is desired, lesser amounts of saccharin should be employed and relatively greater amounts of sodium or calcium cyclamate. Thus with relatively low concentrations of saccharine, the addition of sodium or calcium cyclamate in amounts of ten or twelve times the saccharin content is possible as described in my copending application.

I claim:

1. The method of making dietetically sweetened preserves from fruit requiring a substantial amount of sweetening which comprises the steps of adding to said fruit saccharin, a mate- 4 rial selected from sodium cyclamate and calcium cyclamate in an amount of from two to twentyfive times the saccharin content, and from .3% to 1.5% by weight of low methoxyl pectin,

2. The method of making dietetically sweetened preserves from fruit requiring a substantial amount of sweetening which comprises the steps of adding to said fruit saccharine, a material selected from sodium cyclamate and calcium cyclamate in an amount of from two to twenty five times the saccharin content, and from 3% to 1.5% by Weight of low methoxyl pectin, and thereafter adding edible acid to adjust the pH value of the resulting compound to between 3 and 4, and adding calcium ion to make the concentration of said ion at least 25 milligrams for each gram of low methoxyl pectin.

3.'Dietetically sweetened preserves comprising fruit, low methoxyl pectin, saccharin in an amount less than .11% and a material selected from sodium cyclamate and calcium cyclamate in an amount at least equal to twice the saccharin content.

4. The method of sweetening a dietetic fruit product comprising, adding to said fruit product, saccharin in an amount less than .11% by weight and a material selected from calcium cyclamate and sodium cyclamate in an amount at least equal to twice the saccharin content.

5. The method of making dietetically sweetened preserves from fruit requiring a substantial amount of sweetening which comprises the steps of adding to said fruit saccharine, a material selected from sodium cyclamate and calcium cyclamate in an amount of from two to twentyfive times the saccharin content.

6. The method of sweetening a dietetic fruit product which comprises adding saccharin and a material selected from sodium cyclamate and calcium cyclamate in an amount from two to twenty-five times the saccharin content.

7. The method of sweetening a dietetic fruit product which comprises adding to said fruit product .02% to 1.3% by weight of a material selected from a group consisting of sodium cyclamate and calcium cyclamate, and saccharin in an amount less than 13%, with the concentration of said material being greater than the concentration of said saccharin.

8. The method of sweetening a fruit flavored product which comprises adding to said product .02% to 1.3% by weight of a material selected from sodium cyclamate and calcium cyclamate,

' and saccharin in an amount less than .13%, with the concentration of said material being greater than the concentration of said saccharin.

JAMES B. GORDON.

References Cited in the file of this patent UNITED STATES PATENTS Number Name Date 2,203,643 Musher June 4, 1940 2,275,125 Audrieth et a1. Mar. 3, 1942 2,311,235 Kuderman Feb. 16, 1943 2,536,970 Weast Jan. 2, 1951 

1. THE METHOD OF MAKING DIETETICALLY SWEETENED PRESERVES FROM FRUIT REQUIRING A SUBSTANTIAL AMOUNT OF SWEETENING WHICH COMPRISES THE STEPS OF ADDING TO SAID FRUIT SACCHARIN, A MATERIAL SELECTED FROM SODIUM CYCLAMATE AND CALCIUM CYCLAMATE IN AN AMOUNT OF FROM TWO TO TWENTYFIVE TIMES THE SACCHARIN CONTENT, AD FRM .3% TO 1.5% BY WEIGHT OF LOW METHOXYL PECTIN. 